Love's An Electric Storm!
by Francoist
Summary: THIS IS THE 4TH BOOK IN THE FFNR SERIES AND THE SEQUAL TO LOVE HURTS! Everyone thought that the death of T.E. signified the end... (Lauren): "I'm just trying to get over it dude. We can't let it effect the rest of our loves." (Mel): "No offence Andy, but let's let sleeping dogs lie." But what they're about to find out...Is that the death of T.E. was JUST THE BEGINNING!
1. Chapter 1

**Love's an Electric Storm.**

 _Hey Guys! It has been forever and a day (shall we say 2 and half years!) since the conclusion of Love Hurts. Owing to some start-stop fails and no time at all to write I've been away and YES I know I said I wouldn't return but I just couldn't leave Andy, Jay, Lauren and everyone else alone! So here comes the official 4_ _th_ _book of the series – Love's an Electric Storm. This book is set after Andy and Jay got married but before the big time jump. Welcome back to the drama, welcome back to the love, but most importantly welcome back to the mystery that will be Love's an Electric Storm!_

 **Chapter One – The Graveyard Incident.**

It was an incredibly warm summers day in Australia. According to the latest weather report, the temperature had hit what Aussies referred to as 35 degrees Celsius, which everyone knew translated to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The resort with which they had all been staying at _Unity Cove_ however, had been more then well equipped to meet all their needs.

So, while Linds and Mel took some time to work on their tans, Andy and Jay could be found in their more than adequately airconditioned room, lying in each other's arms and watching a movie called _Heat Wave._

As the movie came to an end, Andy took a quick sip of his slurpee before looking deep into his husband's eyes.

 _Husband_ he thought to himself. It was still something he had to get used to. It was only 2 months ago that Jay and Andy had finally gotten married. However, as Andy recalled quite clearly, if not for 2 hellish years they might've been married already. Then again, they also might not have.

6 months before the ceremony took place Andy, Jay, their friends Mel & Linds – also married, Lauren and her daughter Rein as well as Andy's assistant Spencer and friend Jason had all been held captive at Lauren's boyfriend's café thanks to one of the most insidious villains to hit Connecticut.

T.E.

It had been a tough time for all involved including everyone being stalked, bribed and threatened by text before Andy and Lauren were taken to T.E's lair – a former hospital, separating them from the group. The things that T.E. had done had affected everyone greatly. Physically and Psychologically.

But the worst part of it all had been that T.E. had killed people along the way. Carmita, Andy's friend a spicy Latina singer. Richard, Lauren's father and Rein's grandfather. Emmett, everyone's friend and William, Carmita's butler who had become very useful in helping them when it came to things T.E. had taunted them all with.

 _But no_ Andy resigned himself to realizing. That was not the worst part. Nor was the worst part that T.E. had been a copycat to Linds – Mel's wife, who 2 years ago had done the same thing, though to a much lesser extent.

No.

The worst part of it all, was _who_ T.E. had turned out to be.

Yes, many had been shocked when Linds had revealed herself as the Queen of Team Evil and yes, she had served out her time in the New Haven Sanitorium, but this T.E. This one was worse then most could ever imagine. Despite having a league of her own minions T.E, it turned out, had been none other then Andy's husband Jay's own mother – Jenny.

"*"

By half past nine it was clear to see that Andy was the only one still thinking about T.E. At least from the way the others had been acting during their final meal before leaving the country.

"And then _Linds_ suggested we go and _talk to her!_ " Mel was saying laughing drunkenly.

"You can never have too many connections," Linds replied a little shyly as though wishing Mel hadn't admitted to whatever she was about to plow into.

Everyone, Andy noticed – except for Linds, seemed to be leaning in, intent to hear every word over the way too loud over-the-top blaring of music coming out from the restaurant they were at. Indeed, it seemed that this place wanted to come off as some sort of cross between a club and a restaurant. The funniest part being there was no room at all for anyone to get up and dance. Not that table 3 was considering that as they were using every inch they could to sloppily dance with those around them.

Not that this wasn't the norm, Andy had supposed.

Ever since Emily had died and Alison & Palmer had run off everyone had seemed to do everything they could to act as though anything to do with T.E. hadn't even occurred. Any time anyone had even dared to bring it up they'd be shut down with a ' _yeah, let's not go back there yeah?'_ It had been incredibly infuriating for Andy especially when the 1-month anniversary of Emmett, Carmita and Richard's death had come up and not one of them had agreed to go with him to their graves – including Lauren and Rein.

" _I'm just trying to get over it dude,"_ Lauren had said that day. _"I love my father and I pay my respects to him every week in private. But I can't let what T.E. did to him…to all of us…ruin the rest of our lives."_

Andy could understand what she meant but considering he and Mel had come up with the funds to have tomb stones engraved out of respect for all 4 deceased friends, including Emily, and placed into plots next to each other – it did seem a little offensive.

But even Mel, the other financial contributor had acted the same way.

" _No offense Andy,"_ she'd said. _"But I didn't really know any of them that well. I mean I got to know Richard and Emily during the whole…thing…that went down, but still they weren't my family, and neither was Carmita. As for Em, I'll of course go to Babylon on the 1-year mark. But otherwise, let's let sleeping dogs lie yeah? I mean…"_ Andy recalled her leaning in to whisper to him at this point. _"Who knows if someone else is gearing up to do…that…to us again?"_

 _That._

 _Thing._

 _Moments._

All these were words that most had used in order to separate themselves from the events of the respective T.E. 1 and 2.0.

Granted, Andy had to admit, Linds had done incredibly well since coming out of the sanatorium. And Jenny, if things had gone a little differently – been given the chance to do the same thing – might've been on her road to recovery by now also.

But Andy couldn't help but think back to the saying people often used in times like these.

 _Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me._

Though, his over analytical mind had also added a 3rd part to that saying.

 _Fool me three times, you must be T.E._

Was it any wonder that all the little things that had occurred from out of nowhere since their arrival in Australia - though gone unnoticed by others - had Andy very much on edge.

Like the Vase that Andy loved and planned on buying a copy of until he saw the company logo _Terracotta_ , graffitied with marker to look more like _TEracotta._ Or the square of pavement he'd walked over that somehow had the letters TE on them in black paint.

He hadn't dared to say anything to any of the others at the risk of being _shushed_ by them once more. But the tally of these _little things_ had increased over the last week and Andy couldn't help but continue to look over his shoulders every 2 minutes in case someone they knew was taking a picture or sending them some evil text. 

"You okay?" came a whisper from next to him.

Andy turned to see his husband looking at him with a great deal of concern on his face.

 _Ah no!_ Andy thought to himself. _No I'm not ok Jay! I'm sitting here looking around to see anyone that might have their phones up preparing to take snap shots of us. Or worse! Waiting for one of us to get up and go to the bathroom alone so they can text that person's partner with a – 'ooooh look who's found someone else' text._

"I'm fine," he replied at last. "It's just…it's just the music. Why do they have to have it so loud? This is a restaurant, not Babylon."

Jay smiled in agreeance.

In all honesty he couldn't wait to get back to New Haven. Back to his job, back…to some sense of normalcy. He knew that Lauren felt the same, having discussed it with her the night before. Indeed it seemed only Mel and Linds wanted to be here and truth be known, could they swing it, they'd probably stay much much longer.

"What time do you have to pick up Gus and Lorraine from Bliss?" Andy asked Mel, taking Jay out of his thoughts.

"They said 9 to be safe, 9:30 if we _'have to'_ ," Mel replied with a little disdain in her voice. "I mean come on! We're paying you by the hour. If they stay till 2 past 9 we still owe from 9 till 10. What's their issue?"

Andy took out his cell and looked at the time. _8:30pm_. Well 8:30pm Australia Eastern Standard Time anyway.

Right now back at home it'd be 5:30 in the morning. He'd be prepping for work and Jay would be trying to succeed in another of their tug of war moments entitled 'come back to bed, can't you miss one day?'. But this was not New Haven. Far from it. Granted the coffee was much better and he wasn't surprised that Lauren had set up some possible deals with companies she'd referred to as _The Place Coffee Comes To Celebrate Being Coffee_ , but other then that and granted the general public being so overwhelmingly nice and polite – Andy was ready to pack his suitcase and leave.

"You know what?" Jay asked from out of nowhere. "Let's just go. We can get a head start on packing and then enjoy one more _summer night_ out in the pool together before going home tomorrow."

At once Andy agreed and stood-up so quickly that even Lauren – who followed a few seconds later – looked a little taken aback.

"I agree," he said. "I mean, it's been great and all. But I really need to start getting back into _Shawner's gonna grill us_ mode".

It was upon hearing her new bosses name that Mel agreed and stood herself.

"Agreed," she said. "He may have been happy for us to extend our stay, but jet-lag will be no excuse when it comes to lack of billable hours."

"*"

The next day all 6 could be found at the Melbourne Airport preparing for their trip back home. Despite this normally being a time to reflect on their time away, Andy couldn't help but notice the little groups that everyone seemed to end up in. Jay was sitting with Lauren and Rein and Andy with Mel and Linds.

"Aaaand another text from Taylor!" Lauren said to Jay, not helping the disgruntled tone in her voice. "I mean how many times do I have to tell him _three o'clock_ , if I've said it once I've said it a thousand times already!"

Jay smiled.

Recalling their place of work was like recalling a fairy-tale story read to you as a child. The holiday away had him completely forgetting about work. Back in New Haven Lauren ran a hotel called The Détendez-Vous. It did a really good business and it hadn't taken Jay long to secure employment there after meeting his boyfriend's best friend.

Jay couldn't help but think back to the first time they'd met:

 _He'd walked into the Détendez-Vous after Andy – nothing more then a friend at the time – had rather unceremoniously told him that he could not stay with him after he'd come down from Pittsburgh. A 20 minute cab ride later that had taken him around the entire block twice because the driver had refused to use his GPS had Jay in a worse mood then he'd already been when he'd left Andy's._

 _In a very frustrated manner Jay stormed into the hotel lobby wanting nothing more then to put his bags down and drink himself silly._

" _Hi! I'm Lauren! And Welcome to the Détendez-Vous!" she had said in such an over the top chipper voice that Jay had come to know was reserved for customers. "Can Taylor help you with your bags?"_

" _No!" he snapped, not caring for anyone in this strange town to touch his stuff._

" _Oh-Kay!" Lauren had replied rather quickly._

" _I'm Jay and I believe you have a room booked for me? I can only pay in cash, I hope that's ok," he huffed._

" _Um, well, yes," Lauren began awkwardly. "We have a room booked for you and no, we don't need your money. The room is already paid for."_

" _Fine!" Jay huffed once more. "Can I get my keys? It was a long flight."_

" _Certainly," Lauren said. "Ah, Rein-"_

 _She went on referring to her daughter._

" _-Why don't you take…? Jay was it?"_

 _Jay nodded._

" _Upstairs and show him his room? And ah Taylor-" she continued without really breathing referring to the bellhop nearby. "Why don't you take his bags? After a long flight I'm sure you could do with some good old customer service!"_

Unbeknown to Jay at the time, the moment Rein, Taylor and himself had gone out of sight, Lauren had phone Andy and quite unceremoniously had told him that _Blondie mk-b_ had arrived.

So much had happened since then. For one thing Lauren and Jay had gotten to know each other quite well when only the very next day Andy's Papa Micah had wound up in hospital and Andy, having gone through a wide range of emotions, had done a full 180 and asked Jay if he'd be able to house-sit for him till he returned. While Andy was away, not only had Lauren and Jay gotten to know each other, but she'd grown to love _the kid_ so much that she offered him a job at the hotel as an all-rounder and Jay had accepted right away. From that moment on their friendship blossomed and Jay knew, even if only on a slight level, that it was the blossoming friendship he'd ended up having with Lauren that helped him to not only have a fantastic relationship with Andy but also lead to the proposal he'd made in the foyer of the hotel a year and a half later.

" _This journey we have been on," Jay was saying in front of family and friends – referring naturally to T.E 1 and 2 point 0. "Has helped me to realize that I don't have to live without you anymore. Not now…that I have…this."_

 _In a moment of collective joy from the their family and friends Jay knelt down in front of Andy producing a sterling silver diamond men's wedding band inside a black box._

 _Andy's face had filled with tears as Jay took his partners hands into his own and Lauren – the pairs number 1 fan – rushed around to grab the mike, holding it close to Jay's mouth so that everyone could hear what he was saying._

" _Andy, you have made me the happiest man I have ever been," Jay had said. "_ _And when I look back I realize the reason I was never truly happy in love was because I'd never met someone like you. You've seen me through my good times and my bad. You've seen me at my highest and my lowest. You've seen me shine white and you've seen me shine black. And now here I kneel before you asking you…Andy Thompson…will you marry me?"_

 _It was a heart stopping couple of seconds that followed with everyone including Jay holding their breath. These 2 were always meant to be married, but what if Andy – after all he'd been through – said no?_

" _Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Andy had eventually cried out joyously, jumping up to give Jay a kiss._

It had been a beautiful moment and the moments after had been just as beautiful if not more so. But now Andy couldn't help but recall that overused phrase _time waits for no man._ There was work to get back to for everyone, mouths to feed for Linds and Mel and 6am alarms to be set the moment they all got home.

 _At least we'll have Latro-mare_ Andy thought to himself recalling his favorite coffee shop in the whole world.

"*"

2 weeks later everyone was not only back at home but surprisingly already back into their routines. Lauren and Jay had picked right back up from where they'd left off at the Détendez-Vous, Linds had been given a promotion after she'd managed to sell 20 paintings in Australia and Andy and Mel had gotten back into the swing of things at work. Things had been hairy for a while at Shawner and Shamerson with Liam giving Mel and Andy 3 cases at once, which had seemed to be the norm for everyone else while they were away. However, when Gladis Perkins – a new recruit had lost all 3 of her cases in one day Shawner had decided to impose a '1 case at a time' rule on his own former one making Andy and Mel feel much better, especially since Andy's case had been a civil _'he stole $250 from me'_ case which required next to no research.

It was owing to this that on that Tuesday Andy could be found at the grave-site that he'd tried to get everyone to visit – not surprisingly – on his own.

After paying his respects to his dad, his blood mother and father, Emmet, Carmita and Richard Andy finally made his way to the last one. _Emily Gilbourne_. There were so many things he could say about her and her…ways, but the fact of the matter was that Lauren's mother had been the one to end Jenny shooting her moment's before Jenny could shoot Andy's newborn child Lorraine.

"Emily!" he beamed as though at a gala rather then a graveyard. "Oh, I love the ficus in the hall! Asian?"

He could only imagine the woman's response.

"Asian?!" she'd cry. "You think we'd import anything from that side of the world Andy, really? No, it was actually given to us as a gift from one of Richard's associates from upstate! Isn't it divine? Martha Stewart always did say _Nature indoors, breeds eternal joy_! Richard! Andy's here!"

Andy chuckled slightly at how easily his mind could carry out this conversation with her.

The Ficus, which in reality stood next to her grave, had been from Rein after shed discovered that it was Emily's favorite. The Peonies which sat in front of them were from Lauren which Andy remembered well.

" _I never knew she liked Peonies!" Andy had said to his friend the day she bought them. "Then again we never really did get around to botonny discussions."_

" _Count yourself lucky," Lauren replied rolling her eyes._

" _Well at least your doing something nice," Andy said._

 _Lauren had chuckled at that, which hadn't surprised Andy considering just how unusual it had been. But Andy figured he'd humor her._

" _What's so funny?" he asked._

" _I never said she did like them," Lauren replied, paying for the flowers before the pair exited the store. "In fact Peonies were her least favorite of all!"_

You had to know Lauren and Emily's relationship to get why she'd done it but he'd laughed along with her at the time. Naturally the Peonies had long died since then, but for some reason the bunch that sat in front of the Ficus now looked completely brand new.

Andy bent down to give them a sniff.

Not being a botanist he had no issues with this type at all and the scent they gave off was beautiful. But that was when he spied the note and couldn't help but sigh smiling. Clearly Lauren had come here on her own to refresh things for her mother's grave – _maybe as an after thought to seeing her father_ Andy supposed. But to leave a note attached seemed very much Lauren going out of her way.

Not being able to help his curiosity Andy opened the envelope attached to the flowers and pull out the letter.

He imagined all sorts of things – _Hi Mom, ah no idea what to say, enjoy the flowers haha!_ Came to mind. But maybe Lauren had gotten in touch with her sensitive side and written something beautiful. After all, love her or hate her, Emily had been the one to ultimately save them all.

But as Andy peered down at the note his jaw dropped!

The note was not sad at all, nor Andy realized, was it from Lauren!

2 sentences written in black ink sprawled across the page said:

 _Thank you for getting Jenny out of my way._

 _Trust me it will not have been in vain – T_ _3 ._

 **So this is where I'm going to leave the chapter. Please let me know what you thought. I will update as often as I can so a heads-up to all here, but if you'd like to see more please let me know xoxo.**


	2. Chapter 2: Looks can be deceiving

_**Love's An Electric Storm.**_

 _Hey Guys – Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter up. Unfortunately that will be the case with this book as things are really busy at the moment and delays can not be helped._

 _MDexter – Thank you for the welcome back and welcome back to you! It's been a while since Love Hurts and so I was wondering if you'd be back for this one! Your review filled me with such joy! I'm so glad you loved the first chapter and that you were looking forward to the next one. Well wait no more, here it is xoxo._

 _Ok guys so we're delving a little deeper into this one. Enjoy and let me know what you think._

 **Chapter Two – Looks can be deceiving.**

"Ok," Lauren began as she parked the shopping trolley in the party section. "Straws, Napkins, Ball- Oh – no not those ones sweetie."

Lauren took the packet of white straws out of Jay's hands and put them back on the shelf.

"Rein's party needs color. Lots and lots of color."

"How about these spiral ones?" Jay asked having moved a little bit away.

"For you, yes. For me, right on!" Lauren remarked. "But for Rein…no…I think _this_ one will do."

She held up a packet of 100 straws all the bendy variety and all different colors.

"So, how's Andy adjusting to life back in the justice world?" she asked as she continued to take things off the shelf and put them into the trolley.

"Oh," Jay replied thinking. "I think he's doing well. I mean, they have him doing this one case that's so simple he could probably win it with his hands tied behind his back. But then _benefits_ it brings!-"

"Oooh!" Lauren squealed. "Do tell!"

"Let's just say," Jay replied. "That things are looking good for us. Though…"

Lauren's smile faded as they rounded the corner to the crisps section. She stopped the cart and looked at Jay concerned.

"Though what Jay?" she asked.

"Though if I had it my way, he'd be working with us at the Détendez-Vous," Jay admitted. "I mean, I'm happy for him and I know what he's doing is important, but…"

"But?" Lauren nudged.

"But I can't help but wait for the other shoe to drop. I mean your boyfriend's nice and all but when he gets on a role and realizes how easy this current case is for Andy, I'm sure he'll load him up with 2 or 3 like he has in the past."

"Want me to talk to him?" Lauren asked concerned.

"No," Jay sighed. "From what Andy says _billables_ are the most important thing at Shawner and Shamerson. He'd probably kick Andy out, just because you brought it up thanks to me."

Lauren felt bad for Jay and by association Andy. They had only just gotten back from their honey moon and even then, it's not like they had that much alone time, what with all the activities Mel had been suggesting.

"I've got it!" Lauren cried, almost surprised she hadn't thought of it earlier. "Why don't I book the Praesus Locus for you guys for when it's next available? Then you can have some copely time alone?"

Jay beamed at the idea.

How fitting it would be for them to return to the very room that hosted some of the most important moments in their lives so far.

"*"

Later that afternoon Jay and Rein had gone to pick Andy up from campus. He was still studying his law degree and it hasn't taken long for the 3 to arrange a coffee date catch-up for every Thursday afternoon after his classes.

Jay was a little bit worried about Rein. Lauren had told him that she had been very quiet this week and couldn't seem to work out why. Yes Rein was quiet almost all the time, but even on the ride over Jay had noticed it was much more quiet then usual. The standard _Hey Jay_ had not been followed up with anything until a _we're here_ when they'd arrived at the campus.

So when Rein nudged him to ask if that was Andy on the other side of the court yard, Jay nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Oh – ah -yeah," he replied. "It is. Andy!"

Andy spotted the pair right away and raced up to give Rein a hug and his husband a kiss.

"How's school going?" Rein asked. "Any more run ins with the dean?"

Rein had been referring to last year when Andy was called into the Dean's office for taking too much time off from school – and yet – somehow had walked out of that meeting having passed his first year.

"No," Andy replied. "But if Hazelda gets her way I might be."

"Who's Hazelda?" Rein asked.

"What did Fire-Dragon do now?" Jay asked. "And more importantly when can I finally _meet_ her, if you know what I mean?"

Andy knew exactly what Jay meant and that was why he'd never introduced them. Ms Hazelda had been a total hard-ass on Andy ever since he'd returned from his honey moon. Her view of him taking time to consummate his marriage was nothing more than ' _prioritizing with extracurricular activities'_ over school.

She'd even started making several examples of Andy whenever he didn't know the answer to some questions ( _'This is why we don't prioritize outside of the law field Mr Thompson'_ ) and at other times hadn't even waited to ask, like the time she spoke about torts ( _'Which people like Thompson would know if they'd sorted out their priorities')._

What frustrated Andy more than the taunts of his honey moon, was that he actually knew all about torts and other things she hadn't bothered to ask about. But it had become clear early on that _Fire-Dragon_ needed to have a target, which some of the 3rd years had already told him, and this year it seemed that person was Andy.

"Latro-Mare or Palmer's?" Rein asked.

" _Palmer's_?" Andy shot back, wondering why in the world Rein would suggest such a place.

Palmer's Café was a café that was owned by Lauren's former boyfriend – _if_ you could call him that. Palmer seemed to be the best thing in the world for Lauren, until everyone came to find out that he had been working with T.E.

"Oh sorry," Rein said quickly. "I forgot to tell you. It's been restored, opened back up and Rachael's running things now."

Rachael was Palmer's supervisor and had really stepped up to the task while Palmer had gone out of town to deal with, as he'd put it, _Bean Suppliers_. In actuality he had been going to T.E./Jenny to assist in any way he could. By the time everyone had discovered that Palmer was either T.E. himself or at least on the team everyone had gotten to know Rachael well enough for her to consider them regulars.

When she had called Mel to let her know that Palmer had finally returned, Mel was very quick to tell her to 'get out now' so that she wouldn't be in harm's way when everything went down. It was a good thing she had too, because the scenes that followed with T.E. were anything but pretty.

"Oh," Andy replied simply. "That's nice. But all the same, I'm really in the mood for one of Charles' _Extra_ Caramel Latte's."

"Latro-Mare it is!" Rein replied cheerfully.

As the back and forth banter continued between the two, Jay couldn't help but continue to wonder about Rein's quietness. Sure, she'd frozen her mom out of things and he'd even experienced it himself, but why then was Andy so special? Why was she _acting_ – which is Jay's opinion was exactly what she was doing – this way in front of Andy? Surely if she could be herself around anyone it would be him?

"*"

20 minutes later Rein's issues were the furthest thing on Jay's mind as everyone began to catch up with each other. Rein advised that she'd been working hard at school and was very close to graduating.

"With all those extra courses your taking, I'm not surprised!" Jay had put in.

"Ah – Rein?" Andy questioned, knowing what she was like. "Exactly _how_ many extra classes are you taking?"

"Oh, don't worry," Rein shooed away. "I'm only taking 8 extra now."

" _Eight?_ " Andy hissed lest he scream it out. "Rein!"

"What?" she asked. "It was 12, but I simply couldn't handle them all. It was tough giving up _studies of Egyptology-_ "

"And how, pray tell, does Egyptology relate to journalism?" Jay asked laughing.

"It doesn't," Rein answered aloofly. "But I wanted to ensure a well-rounded course."

"That's our Rein," Andy laughed. "Always wanting t-"

He stopped as Jay tapped him on the shoulder making signals with his eyes to look at the entrance of the café.

Andy looked over while Rein whirled around to see Alison, Mel's former assistant and helper of T.E. walk into the room.

" _Alison?"_ Andy whispered, forcing Rein to whirl back around. " _When did she get out of jail?_ "

As far as all 3 had known, Alison and Palmer had been found – after doing a runner – the day of Andy and Jay's wedding and both had been arrested. Palmer had eventually been put to death, but Alison, who nabbed a great lawyer ended up getting 10 years imprisonment.

Considering it hadn't even been 3 months, this had naturally rocked all 3 to their core!

"Pumpkin spice latte extra on the spice," they heard her order.

"No problems," Palmer replied taking her money and making his way over to make the drink.

" _What do we do?!"_ Andy whispered to the others.

" _I don't know about you, but I don't want to talk to her,"_ Rein whispered back.

Andy and Jay nodded.

" _Should we-"_ Andy began. " _Should we…leave?"_

" _Yeah cause that won't look suspicious!"_ Jay shot back.

" _Besides,"_ Rein chimed in. " _She's leaving."_

The other 2 looked over to the counter and saw Charles handing Alison her beverage.

"Have a nice day," he said with a smile.

"You too!" she called out as she pulled open the door and walked through it.

" _Have a nice day?!"_ Andy asked. " _Have – a nice – day?!_ Does he not know what went down? Didn't Lauren tell him? I mean it's not like he was involved, but you would think that she would've at least warned him."

"Yes, you would think," came a voice from behind them.

Andy and Jay whirled around to see Palmer make his way to their table.

"Your voices travel," he admitted upon seeing their questioning looks. "Lauren didn't tell me, but I read about it in the papers. She's that _Ally-Cat_ or something isn't she? The one that got involved with J-"

Charles stopped realizing who he was talking to.

"It's…ok Charles," Jay replied. "I'd rather you say her name then pussy-foot around it."

"I'm sorry Jay," Charles sighed. "I totally f-"

The rest of what Charles was about to say had been drowned out by the sound of Andy's phone.

"Sorry I better take this," he said as he noticed the name of the caller.

Stepping outside Andy hastily answered the phone.

"Spencer!" he began. "Before you say whatever it is, I'm sure Shamerson needs me to do – S.O.S – Ally's out of jail."

"*"

That night Andy and Jay prepared for Rein's party. Spencer had promised to check-in on what was happening with Ali but despite him knowing just how anal her research always was, it didn't stop Andy and Jay discussing it while getting ready.

"How long was she _supposed_ to be in there?" Jay asked as he flung an array of options for his husband onto their bed, something they'd both become accustomed to.

"Life!" Andy replied indignantly. "She was lucky not to get the same fate as Palmer!"

"Is it possible she's been let out early for…that release thingy?" Jay asked.

"If you're talking about compassionate release," Andy began as a feather bower whizzed past his nose. "Then maybe, but you'd think Spencer would've said something considering how close they…were."

"Yeah exactly," Jay replied. " _Were_. I doubt she's going over to her parents' house-"

"Both of whom are dead mind you," Andy retorted, recalling her brother Jason having mentioned as much.

"Even more to my point!" Jay said. "What is Jason is hospital or something?"

"I think Rick would've told us if he was," Andy replied.

Rick other than being Andy's high school friend had come back into Andy's life 2 years ago during the reign of Lindsay as the Leader of Team Evil. Everyone had been convinced that he was involved with T.E. too, but he never was and at one point, prior to them finding out who T.E. was Andy had even successfully petitioned to have him sent back home to California.

Mel had surprised them when she'd delivered him to their wedding to ensure he didn't miss out on the big day and bygones and all in place everyone was happy to see him.

While at the reception Dinner, Rick had taken a liking to Jason and upon Andy introducing the two it hadn't taken long for the pair to begin dating. The pair were still very much together and whenever Rick had the chance to call Andy the majority of their conversation revolved around just how _perfect_ Rick thought Jason to be for him.

"And if you're going to continue to insist on prepping clothes for me to wear," Andy smiled picking up the feather boa. "Then let's not think of Reins party as a night out at Babylon."

"So, no tight leggings then?" Jay asked smiling cheekily while removing the pair that Andy wore on their last visit to Pittsburgh's Gay Club.

"Ah…yeah. No." Andy laughed, placing the leggings back into the wardrobe. "I think I'll go with the white long sleeve Ralph Lauren and the matching pants."

Jay smiled.

In a matter of weeks, he'd gone from a boyfriend that wore all black to a husband that wore all white. Not that he minded, Andy's attitude seemed to have changed with the new color choice too and Jay had been all for both.

"Well in the spirit of _matchy-matchy,_ " Jay replied. "I'll do the white bonds top with the black jeans."

"*"

Not too much later the pair were walking over to Lauren's. Their new house, which they'd only purchased a week before the wedding was only a few houses down from Lauren's which despite her being convinced was the sole reason they'd bought it, though not the case, had turned out to be incredibly convenient.

"Is Spencer coming?" Jay asked seemingly casually.

But Andy knew better.

"Yes," he said. "And she said she'd update us when we're alone, so no barging right in with _what'd ya find?_ Yeah?"

"As if I would barge right in," Jay replied.

Andy just gave his husband a knowing look.

"Please!" Jay shot back. "I'd say hi first."

Andy couldn't help but laugh at the well-timed crack and before long they were standing at Lauren's front door.

"Hey Charlie!" Andy called out, seeing him further down the verandah cooking on a portable barbeque.

Charlie waved back, but before either of them could say anything else the door had opened to a very pale-white Rein.

" _Finally!_ " she hissed. "How long does it take you two to get dressed?!"

Yanking them both inside, Rein hastily shut the door whispering to them rather quickly.

" _I haven't said anything about Ali to anyone, so please don't say anything while you are here!"_ she begged as Mrs Walters – the gossip from next door seemed to bounce her way over to them.

"Not even your mom?" Andy asked out of the corner of his mouth.

" _Of course not_ ," Rein snapped. " _You really think we need to in-_ troduce you to Mrs Walters!"

By this point the woman had made it to where they were standing. She was short in stature but plump and good-looking reminding them of a shortened version of Andy's Aunt Deb.

"Oh, hey sugar," she said sweetly. "Who're your friends?"

"This is Andy," Rein instructed pointing to him. "And his husband-"

"Jay, right?" Mrs Walters asked shocking the pair. "Oh, don't act so surprised. Lauren's talked about _you_ Andy for years! And of course, you must be the husband she tells me is a _hoot_ at the hotel!"

Though Andy was smiling on the outside as his job had taught, on the inside he was rolling his eyes. Lauren had mentioned Mrs Walters many many times and had been quick to tell him that she was someone who was friendly, but someone she avoided when a lot was going on, because she had ways of dragging things out of people that they didn't want known.

"Oh Sandy!" came a very familiar voice that floated down from the top of the nearby staircase, followed by the sound of very rushed footsteps. "Ah- Charlie was asking for a root beer earlier. Do you think you could get him one?"

By now Lauren had made it to their side and while Andy thought Mrs Walters would tell Lauren where to go, it seemed she had no objections whatsoever and proceeded directly to the kitchen with nothing more than a _'sure sugar happy to!'._

"Is she drunk?" Andy asked as Lauren looped her hand through his and Rein lead Jay off to introduce him to the others that had arrived.

"Sandy?" Lauren asked. "Oh no, that's good-ol' Sandy, busy body of the year. You didn't tell her about T-… the _stuff_ we went through over the past 2 years, did you?"

Andy gave Lauren an _are-you-kidding-me_ look.

"Right," she said. "Excellent. Cause one word to that one and it'll be all over New Haven."

"*"

About an hour later, Andy was in the kitchen in desperate need of a breather. It's funny how friends are when they're around all different people in one room and Lauren was no exception to this. Sure he loved her more than anyone in the world (ok almost everyone) but this party, if you could call a sit down with New Haven's biggest gossip telling everyone the latest and greatest details of _The Sharmanty's who moved in last week_ had Andy very much wanting to get home or at the very least wanting to grab a soda.

But as he opened the fridge, he heard a knock at the back door.

 _Bless Lauren and her decision to place the kitchen right next to the back door_ he through to himself for what was quite possibly the millionth time. Expecting it to be another one of Lauren's not so funny friends, Andy almost jumped in surprise to see not only that it was Spencer at the back door, but with her Ali's brother Jason!

" _Jason?!_ " Andy asked quickly. "What're you both doing at the back door?"

"I texted you!" Spencer blurted out. "But you didn't respond."

"And so, she texted me," came Jay's voice from behind him. "I told her you were in the kitchen and to use the back."

"But if she's invited-?" Andy questioned.

"Yeah this is not me accepting an invite," Spencer said quickly. "Ah, we need to talk."

Without even looking back, Andy and Jay quickly made their way outside and shut the door behind them. Spying a comfortable seating area nearby Spencer took a seat and motioned for the others to do the same.

Once they had she barged right in.

"I spoke to Jason about what you said about Ali," she began with all the subtly of a hand grenade. "And he said-"

"It wasn't Ali you saw," Jason jumped in. "Ali's not in New Haven right now."

"Wait, so she _has_ been released?!" Andy asked doing his best to keep his voice down.

"No," Jason replied emphatically. "She's been transferred."

"TRAN-" Andy blurted out before lowering his voice again. " _Transferred?! Since when? And more importantly why?!"_

"The jail here is meant for temporary stay or pending sentences," Jason replied. "Since Ali's ruling was a life sentence she was only placed here temporarily until they could move her somewhere else. She's been in East Rock ever since."

"East Rock?" Jay asked. "Why does that name sound oddly familiar?"

"Because," Andy responded. "It's where T.E's minions dropped me off once they released me from the hospital. East Rock Park."

"Yeah," Jason agreed. "It's in the same area."

"But-" Jay argued. "It was _definitely_ Alison!"

"Yeah," Andy nodded. "Jason we both know your sister when we see her. It was Ali."

"I'm sorry," Jason said. "I don't know what to tell you. She's in jail in East Rock. There's no way it could've been her."

"The mind can play tricks," Spencer chimed in. "Maybe it was someone who looked like Ali?"

"Yeah hun," Jay agreed. "Maybe it was. I mean we never really spoke to her and we were in the furthest booth."

As Andy tried to recall the moments at Latro-Mare Jason's phone began to ring.

"Sorry guys," he said. "I gotta take this and I really have to go."

"Thanks Jason," Jay said. "And sorry about all this."

"No need to be," Jason replied. "I'd do the same thing if I were in your situation."

As Jason rushed off, Spencer turned to Andy.

"Listen," she said. "I have to go too. I'm his ride. But text me if you need me ok?"

Andy nodded, still running over everything in his mind.

 _It wasn't possible_!

 _It'd had to be Ali!_

But by the time he'd come out of his thoughts to voice this aloud, Andy realized that Spencer and Jay were both gone.

 _Bless them_ he thought to himself.

At least they were good enough friends to appreciate why he'd said anything.

Just as Andy went to get up and grab a drink his phone vibrated, and he put his hand in his pocket and fished it out.

He knew he would apologize to Jason in the morning for bringing it all up. But at least for now, he could relax a little more and try to enjoy whatever was left of the party. But any and all thoughts of him doing just that were erased from his mind as he saw the text displayed on his phone.

 _Funny how looks can be deceiving._

 _But the question is, are they really? – T3._

" _*"_

 _ **So this is where we'll leave chapter 2. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please leave me a review to let me know what you thought.**_


	3. Chapter 3: Fool Me Twice

_Hey Guys! Sorry about the delay in getting Chapter 3 up. As I said at the beginning of Chapter 2 this will be the case with this book. I can only promise it will get done when I can get to it._

 _Mdexter2010- I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Happy new year to you too! I'm sure this chapter will intrigue also._

 _Ok just a heads up before you begin, prior to the end of this chapter there is a bit of choppiness. This is only because I wanted to make sure you got to see everyone's point of view. If I have missed anyone that you want to see brought back please do not hesitate to let me know. And again let me know what you think._

" _*"_

 **Chapter Three – Fool me twice.**

The following morning Andy woke-up feeling quite rested. Despite the thoughts that raced in his mind the night before owing to the T3 text, he'd somehow managed to have a dreamless sleep, for which he was extremely grateful.

But as he rolled over to kiss his husband good morning, he noticed that Jay was not there.

Instantly a flashback played its way into Andy's mind.

 _It was his wedding day and he'd woken up so happy to finally be marrying the one he loved, when he noticed Jay was not by his side. Figuring he'd gotten up to make coffee Andy had grabbed his dressing gown and made his way to the kitchen – but Jay was also not there. He then raced to the bathroom – but still – no Jay._

 _Panic ensued as Andy started to freak out over where his fiancé' could possibly be. After all Alison and Palmer had still not been captured yet and at the back of Andy's mind, he had always wondered if they would come back to get their revenge on those who took his business away from him._

" _Not today!" Andy had roared. "I don't care if your name is T.E., E.T., or something dumb like piggeldy-wiggles; you're not taking my man!"_

It had turned out that Jay had simply left early to get to Mel and Linds' place to get ready. But this hadn't stopped Andy from exploding on him.

" _Hi Andy," Jay had said on the other side of the phone. "Sleep well?"_

" _Sleep well?" Andy asked. "Sleep well?!" I wake up, the car's gone, there's no note and you ask how I slept?! Jay I thought T.E. had gotten you!"_

It turned out that Palmer and Alison had been captured that morning, stopped on their way to San Fransico.

While this had pacified Andy, he had been quick to tell Jay to always leave a note whenever he just up and left for something before Andy had woken.

If he had left however, there was certainly no note in the bedroom.

Hoping that whomever this new T3 was hadn't captured Jay, Andy headed to the kitchen and was relieved to see a note left on the fridge.

 _Hey Husband,_

 _I'm sure you're pleased to see the note I left this time._

 _I've gone to Spencer's, she wanted to discuss something with me and I felt it would be best to let you sleep after the drama of last night._

 _I'll be home soon._

 _Your husband,_

 _Jay_

 _Xoxo._

 _Well,_ Andy thought to himself a little ticked-off. _You may be my husband and you may have left a note, but that doesn't mean you know me that well._

Andy scowled as he made himself a coffee.

 _If anyone should be talking to Spencer 'Clues-whiz-genius' it should be me!_ He thought.

After all, had Jay even received a text?

Just then Andy's phone rang, sighing he raced over to where he'd left it on the bedside table in his room and picked it up.

"Hello?" he asked, not having bothered to look at the caller ID.

"Andy, it's Lauren," came the sound of his best friend. "Mel's on the way to come and get you-"

"But it's the weekend Lauren!" Andy whined. "I don't care how much Shauna is paying us I'm not coming in for a meeting to-"

"No, you're not!" she cried. "Jay's in hospitalnowcalmdown-" she rushed. "He's fine he just had a fall, but he's been asking to see you."

For all the effort Lauren had put in telling Andy to calm down, it hadn't worked. The room started spinning as Andy for the umpteenth time couldn't help but think about how life would be without his soulmate.

"Andy?" came Lauren's voice after a moment. "Andy…tell me when the room stops spinning bud."

Almost it once it did.

If Andy could credit Lauren for anything above anything else, it was her adept skill at knowing exactly what to say in exactly the right moment.

"It's just pulsing now," he replied with a shallow laugh.

"Good," Lauren said. "Now make yourself a coffee – _actually_ – while you're at it make me one too! I haven't had one in 2 hours! Mel will be there soon sweetie and please know that he is O-"

"Don't Lauren!" Andy hissed. "Don't tell me he's ok. He went off before I even woke up and now suddenly, he's had a fall? Don't try to pacify me with 'ok'd ness'."

"Andy…?" came the voice of the one person he _wanted_ to hear from. "Andy calm down."

"Calm down…CALM DOWN?!" he yelled.

"Andy!" Lauren yelled through the phone having obviously snatched it back from Jay. "Call off the bloodhounds yeah? He may be ok, but he's in hospital. Think about it dude, really."

"*"

It hadn't taken long for Mel to get there and within minutes they had both arrived in Jay's room in the emergency section. The first thing Andy noticed was how heavily guarded Jay was. Not only was Lauren there with him, but so too was Linds, Spencer, Jason, Rick and Rein.

 _So much for an outing with just Spencer -_ something in the back of his mind said.

"Ok everyone," Mel said from behind him. "The husband's here, so let's give him a few minutes yeah?"

As one, everyone turned to see Andy and they all smiled knowingly. Each and every one of them that looked at him right now had come to know him very well and they knew, owing to this, that if he didn't get the full-story soon, he'd fly right off the handle.

Again, as one everyone made to move out of the room, but Andy stopped Spencer.

"Can you stay?" he asked.

"Of course," she said without hesitation.

The others turned to look back at him, but Andy flashed them a smile.

"I just need her to make some calls to the office," he said as assuringly as he could.

They all seemed to take his word for it and left the three alone to discuss what had happened.

It was now that Andy noticed how bad Jay looked. He had a black-eye and bruising all down his arms. He was grateful Spencer was behind him at that moment to catch him as he almost fainted.

"Wha-" he almost shouted before righting himself just in time to whisper. " _What the hell?!... Spence?"_

"We were at the park discussing…you know what…when-" she began.

" _And clearly you didn't think it prudent that I be there?!"_ Andy whispered again.

"Honey, it's not like th-" Jay began.

" _Not one word from you Mister!"_ Andy said giving him a glaring stare. " _It's one thing that_ _ **she**_ _didn't think to invite me but_ _ **you**_ _?"_

"Andy w-w-we were w-worried about you," Spencer admitted.

Andy's crazy eyes snapped straight into Spencer's direction.

" _Worried about me?"_ he demanded, not for the first time angered even more that he was limited to whisper-screaming. " _What the heck Spence?! Why would you be-?"_

"Alison's in prison Andy," she shot back. "Why would you even bring her up? It's almost like your…" she lowered her voice " _Obsessed with the whole T.E. thing_."

Andy's jaw dropped.

 _Who in the hell did she think she was?!_ His mind reeled. _Me obsessed? ME?! That's rich considering how obsessed she was with-_

"Jay told me about the clay pot," Spencer went on taking Andy right out of his thoughts.

"The wh-what?" he stuttered.

"Oh, come on Andy!" Jay called out, as he had to considering somehow Spencer and Andy had moved further away from the bed with each sentence uttered. "The pot at the place where we stayed in Australia _ooooh it has a big T and E!_ " he mimicked, and Spencer smiled.

Andy's jaw dropped yet again.

" _Enough,"_ he whispered with dark venom. " _E-nough_."

With that Andy tuned on the spot and purposefully walked out of the room the last thing on his mind being Jay and his injuries. The first being the one person he knew that could be there for him at this very moment.

Spencer had half a mind to chase after Andy, but Jay stopped her.

"Let him go," he said. "We said what we needed to and he's clearly not ready to hear it. But he will…in time."

"*"

As Andy headed out towards the waiting area, Lauren looked up at him full of concern. She had no idea what had happened to Jay other than that he'd fallen (something she did not believe at all) and she knew Andy would need to talk to her about it. Having been at New Haven Hospital many times before thanks to the various T.E's they'd all had to deal with, she even knew where the best coffee places were.

But as she continued to look at him, she realized that he wasn't even looking in her direction. Instead she watched as Andy purposefully made his way over to Rick and whispered something in his ear.

 _Rick?_ She pondered.

Granted Rick had managed to turn his life around since being sentenced to time in jail and naturally since being sent back home to his ex-Andrea. But since coming back she'd hardly seen him when they weren't gathered as a group. Though she had heard from Andy that he was doing well with Alison's brother, she still couldn't help but feel ticked-off that her best friend went straight to him and not her.

Rick nodded a few times and then Andy left.

There was no way however that Lauren was simply going to let this slide. Wanting her or not was not her concern anymore, she just knew she was the only one that could help him. She was therefore surprised when she noticed Rick by her side as she stood up.

"Let me," he said to her calmly. "He just needs a moment alone right now. Just wait, I'm sure he'll come and talk to you soon."

 _Uh-huh_ , she pondered not helping the memory of his time with Linds as Queen of Team Evil. _Once you've locked him up in another warehouse and we break our way back in._

"Mom," came the voice of her daughter sitting behind her. "Just sit down."

She did so, despite it being begrudgingly.

"*"

"Thanks for meeting me," Andy said as Rick pulled up a seat at Raven's Beak the only gay club in New Haven.

"Of course," Rick replied. "What happened?"

Andy ignored the question.

"How did you do it Rick?" he purged.

"Do what?" Rick softly chuckled.

"How did you act all nice around everyone when you were feeling such hate and loathing towards us all?"

 _Oh_ , Rick thought. _Now it made sense why Andy wanted to see him and not Lauren. Lauren was not one to hold back on anything. She may have been Andy's best friend, but she was about as subtle as a hand-grenade._

"What's got you so upset?" Rick asked, ignoring the urge to ask why Andy was going back to something that happened so long ago as he handed him a cigarette.

"Everyone!" Andy yelled.

Not that it mattered that he'd yelled.

One of the reasons he'd chosen Raven's Beak was so that he could yell and with the loud music no one would even batter an eye lid.

"Why?" Rick asked simply, taking his lighter back from his friend and lighting up himself.

"Because…" Andy began trying to work out how to paraphrase it all. "…and this has to stay between us ok?"

Rick nodded.

Andy sighed.

"Ok ever since Alison and Palmer were arrested, I've feared what's coming next you know? I mean OK when Linds was Queen of Team evil it was easy to forgive and forget with time and palm it off as a _one-time thing._ But then out of the blue comes Zandra and Jenny?! I mean, as the old saying goes fool me once shame on you-"

"Fool me twice shame on me?" Rick asked.

"Rick, I don't want another T.E. and if I could be sure there would never be another one then ok life could go back to…well not normal I suppose, but at least...what it was always meant to be."

"But how," Rick asked seriously. "How exactly can you _be_ sure that there will ever be another T.E? You know Jason always says-"

"Grab a bong a light up?" Andy snapped. "Here, you want proof – here it is."

He passed his phone to Rick who saw what appeared to be a photo of a letter.

"T.E wrote to you?" he assumed, having not zoomed in and yet trying to put 2 and 2 together.

"T.E. is dead," Andy said simply. "Emily killed her. But this…this is very T.E. esque."

Rick zoomed into the picture and read the letter that Andy had taken a snap shot of at the graveyard.

"Thank you for getting Jenny out of my way?!" Rick demanded. "What the hell?"

"Keep reading," Andy said taking another drag of his cigarette.

"Trust me it will not have been in vain…" Rick looked up at Andy, his face paling instantly. "…T Three?!"

"*"

A loud banging could be heard coming from the front door as Micah jumped up from the couch.

"Pizza!" he cried.

"It's not going to get here if you stand there like America's Next Top Cheerleader," B replied sarcastically.

"I could do it you know," Micah said.

"Not if you don't walk over to the door and pay the guy," B replied.

"I meant," Micah chuckled. "I could be America's Next Top Cheerleader."

But when Micah opened the door it was not to see the Pizza man, it was actually-

"Lauren?" Micah asked. "Hey! How are…you?"

Lauren looked white as a sheet as she looked back at her best friends Papa.

"Ah…c-can I c-come in?" she asked clearly shaking.

"Of course!" Micah replied stepping aside quickly to allow her access to his home.

B looked up upon hearing her name and when he saw her, he simply patted at the seat next to his on the couch.

Lauren wordlessly sat.

"Ok Lauren," B sighed. "Out with it, what happened?"

"Nothing!" Lauren responded way too quickly.

"Yeah and Andy's a blind monkey," he joked.

"You may know what he is," she retorted. "But do either of you know _where_ he is?"

Micah closed the door and moved as quickly as his legs would let him before squatting down to take a seat next to Lauren.

"Lauren," he said more seriously than his partner ever would. "What happened?"

Lauren told them all about Jay being taken to hospital not leaving out that she didn't know much other than that Jay had 'apparently fallen'. She then told of how Andy came out to the waiting area and bypassed her before whispering to Rick and then…

"Nothing," she concluded.

"Nothing?" B asked. "What do you mean _nothing_?"

"I mean nothing B!" she cried. "Nada, Zip, Zilch. Not one word from him since he left with Rick!"

B, the ever patient one of the three took a moment to think about this. Yes, Rick had worked very closely with him when they assisted Linds to be the Queen of Team Evil, but since then – despite Rick's much harsher punishment, B hadn't seen a sign or even a whisper of him going back to his old ways. In fact, last he'd heard Rick was shacked up with Jason doing very well for himself.

"You're not trying to imply…" B began.

"How could I not B?!" Lauren demanded. "You should've seen the look he gave off after he'd left."

"The look?" Micah asked.

"Yes!" Lauren replied. "That same 'panther about to strike' look Rick had back in the throne room."

"Wait a minute," Micah said. "You can't mean to _insinuate_ for even _one minute_ that Andy's some new T-"

"No!" Lauren replied looking horrified. "Of course not!"

"Then what are you saying?" B asked, lost with where she was going with this.

" _Who_ was the most integral part of the search for Jay at the warehouse Micah? _Who_ might I add, rescued you from Casa de Carmita B? And _who_ may I continue, was the _key_ to Jenny's plans?!"

"Andy" they both replied in unison.

"Exactly!" Lauren freaked. "Don't you think if there was another T.E.-"

"NO!" Micah yelled, louder than Lauren had ever heard before.

"Micah…" she sighed. "I think we need to-"

"NO!" he yelled again this time standing. "No! No! No! No! NO! This is NOT happening AGAIN!"

With that, Micah practically fled out of the lounge area.

"Well I can see where Andy gets his dramatics from," B smiled.

"Right?" Lauren smiled weakly.

"Yeah – both of you," B confirmed. "Lauren do you even have a _stich_ of proof that another psycho is on our case?"

"My gut B," Lauren replied.

B smiled.

"Your gut," he said. "You came all the way up here because you haven't heard from Andy in what? 3 hours and suddenly _your gut_ is telling you there's another T.E.? Did it ever cross your mind that Andy might've wanted some time to be on his own?"

Lauren glared at B, with a glare more icily cold then he'd ever seen before.

"Did it ever cross your mind that this T.E. could be so good, that they've taken Andy before any of us even suspected there was one?" she retorted.

"*"

As Spencer drove home, she was mad.

Mad at Andy for not being willing to listen to what Jay and she had been trying to say for one thing. Madder still that he hadn't stayed long enough to hear what had happened to Jay. If he loved him as much as she knew he did, then why hadn't he at least been intrigued enough to stick around to hear what had happened to Jay?

More to the point _how_ it had happened.

And now, as Spencer was not family, she had to leave Jay in the hospital overnight on his own. The only family Jay even had (considering his father was dead – his sister estranged and his mother…well everyone knew what had happened to T.E.) was Andy.

 _He'll learn,_ she thought to herself. _He'll have to if we're to all deal with this…situation._

"*"

"What do you think all that was about?" Linds asked Mel as the pair sat together watching a film they loved.

"Well _muggle_ , Mel replied – The hat takes a witch or wizards choice into consideration," Mel replied.

"Not the film Mel!" Linds said angrily. "Although judging from your inflection I'd hazard a guess you'd _chose_ Ravenclaw but end up in Slytherin."

"Says the Hufflepuff," Mel laughed. "What were you referring to?"

"Andy!" she cried, holding back a retort about where she'd be placed if choices were taken into consideration. "Why do you think he up and left without even acknowledging us? It's not like him to not do some 'thanks for coming guys' speech."

"Let alone, whisper something to Rick," Mel agreed. "I mean of all people, I would just as soon assume he would talk to-"

"Lauren," Linds agreed. "That's what tipped me off. One – why wasn't it Lauren and Two – why _was_ it Rick?"

"Maybe we should ask him about it," Mel pondered aloud.

"Tomorrow," Linds said. "We'll give him tonight and then we'll interrogate him in the morning before he's had the chance to have coffee."

"*"

"Thanks for taking me home Rein," Jason said as he unbuckled his seat belt.

"Of course," Rein replied. "And thanks for your help with the hospice stats. You were right, there have been 269 deaths since May."

"It kind of helps when you volunteer there once a week," Jason blushed.

"Wait-" Rein said. "You volunteer at New Haven Hospice?"

"Only once a week," he replied. "It's something to do during my off time. After finding out my sister was a psycho and then my other sister was…well…a psycho."

"Wait-" Rein jumped in again. " _Other_ sister? You have another sister aside from Alison?"

"Yeah I do," Jason replied. "Though technically he was my brother to begin with."

Rein's mouth formed an 'O' shape as it dawned on her what he meant.

"Why have you never mentioned…her?" she eventually said, realizing she didn't know this woman's name.

"He had a tough life, she became a psycho like I said. I really don't think about her too much I mean he left when I was 3. I found out the whole story after I graduated but it was all for not anyway…I'd rather not say more about it if that's ok."

"No of course," Rein said quickly. "I'm so sorry for intruding, I really do have to keep my nose out of other people's business."

"No, it's fine," Jason replied. "Just…you know…if you could _not_ bring this up with anyone else – that'd be great."

"Of course," Rein said. " _Off the record._ "

"Thanks," Jason smiled, before opening the door and moments later disappearing inside his house.

"So," Rein said as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Alison has a sister."

"*"

New Haven Hospital was not exactly what Jay would call the _ideal_ place to be. Not only was he all alone, but he also had no way of contacting Andy after one of the nurses took away his phone after catching him trying to use it.

" _This is emergency!" she'd screeched. "Do you really think it's smart to be using your phone?"_

" _I just wanted to contact-" Jay had begun._

" _Well, whomever it is you can contact them after you've signed the discharge papers. These people!" she mumbled as she walked-off._

Eventually a nurse that took pity on him had come to him with something to help him sleep and Jay had taken it right away. After all, they'd told him if everything still looked as good in the morning, they'd discharge him and sleep right now would allow the hours to tick by much faster.

But in the middle of the night Jay woke up to an odd feeling. It was like someone was brushing up against his hand.

Jay opened his eyes but felt incredibly groggy.

Against the wall stood someone in a candy stripers outfit.

"Hi Jay," she said looking like she was about to start crying.

 _But no!_ he thought. _It couldn't be!_

The more he tried to focus the more he was able to make out specific features. Long blonde hair, blue eyes and red lipstick.

"A-Al-Alison?" Jay asked confused as to _how_ she was even here in the first place.

"It sucks what's happened to you Jay," she said sympathetically. "I wish I knew who'd done it."

"H-How are you you h-here?" Jay asked.

"Don't concern yourself about that too much sweetie," she replied, walking over to his bed to shift the blanket so that he was more covered and comfortable. "You just rest up ok? And then when you get out of here, we'll find whoever's responsible."

"A-am I dreaming this?" Jay asked.

"It's possible," she replied looking around the cubicle he had and giving off a small chuckle. "I mean last time I was here the place wasn't anywhere near as sterile."

"A-aren't you meant to be in prison?" he asked still trying to work it all out.

She took a seat on his bed and brushed his hair with her fingers.

"I told you sweetie, don't worry about it." She looked at her watch and then turned back to him. "But now that you mention it, I should be getting back."

"No!" he said quickly.

Despite it weirding him out, he still had a ton of questions.

"I have to sweetie," she replied. "But you rest up and I promise we'll find whoever did this to you and make them pay."

Jay smiled.

Forgotten was everything she had done, for everything she offered in that very moment – comfort, support and hope, was all that Andy had neglected to do.

"Someone's coming," she said quickly looking to Jay's left.

Jay turned there was no one there at all.

But when he turned back, he realized she too, was gone.

"*"

 _And that's where we'll leave Chapter 3. I hope you enjoyed all the shocks and getting a scene with pretty much everyone (though I am now mindful I missed Aunt Deb). If there is anyone else you can think of that I've missed that you want to see please let me know. Otherwise if you could please leave a review that would be lovely_ _._


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